Elaborazione di un indicatore multi criteria di virtuosita nella gestione dei rifiuti, destinato agli enti locali

Essendo la percentuale di raccolta differenziata un indicatore che preso singolarmente risulta insufficiente a misurare la virtuosità di un Comune nella gestione dei rifiuti, si è elaborato un indicatore multi criteria che amplia l'orizzonte dell'analisi agli altri aspetti inerenti la gestione dei rifiuti. I criteri individuati sono otto: -Percentuale di raccolta differenziata -Produzione pro capite di rifiuti indifferenziati -Produzione pro capite di rifiuti totali -Impatto ambientale del sistema di raccolta e trattamento dei rifiuti -Costi del servizio -Tracciabilità dei rifiuti domestici -Coinvolgimento della popolazione -Comodità per il cittadino. Ad ogni Comune analizzato (il caso di studio è l'Unione Terre di Castelli) viene attribuito un punteggio per ogni criterio, in seguito moltiplicato per il peso attribuito al criterio stesso. I punteggi dati da ciascun criterio sono stati poi normalizzati in una scala da 0 a 1 con l'intervento di figure di esperti di ciascun ambito; i pesi sono stati determinati con la metodologia della Pairwise Comparison (T.Saaty, 1980) dai Sindaci e dagli Amministratori di tutti i Comuni del caso di studio. L'indicatore così costruito è stato poi applicato ai Comuni del caso di studio mostrando risultati, in termini di virtuosità, differenti da quelli prodotti dal solo indicatore di raccolta differenziata, evidenziando così l'importanza di un approccio multi disciplinare al tema dei rifiuti. L'indicatore, mostrando i punteggi ed il margine di miglioramento relativo a ciascun criterio, si è poi rivelato un efficace strumento di supporto alle decisioni per i Comuni nell'indirizzo degli investimenti in materia di gestione dei rifiuti

Development of a Nomogram Predicting the Risk of Persistence/Recurrence of Cervical Dysplasia

Background: Cervical dysplasia persistence/recurrence has a great impact on women's health and quality of life. In this study, we investigated whether a prognostic nomogram may improve risk assessment after primary conization. Methods: This is a retrospective multi-institutional study based on charts of consecutive patients undergoing conization between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2014. A nomogram assessing the importance of different variables was built. A cohort of patients treated between 1 January 2015 and 30 June 2016 was used to validate the nomogram. Results: A total of 2966 patients undergoing primary conization were analyzed. The median (range) patient age was 40 (18-89) years. At 5-year of follow-up, 6% of patients (175/2966) had developed a persistent/recurrent cervical dysplasia. Median (range) recurrence-free survival was 18 (5-52) months. Diagnosis of CIN3, presence of HR-HPV types, positive endocervical margins, HPV persistence, and the omission of HPV vaccination after conization increased significantly and independently of the risk of developing cervical dysplasia persistence/recurrence. A nomogram weighting the impact of all variables was built with a C-Index of 0.809. A dataset of 549 patients was used to validate the nomogram, with a C-index of 0.809. Conclusions: The present nomogram represents a useful tool for counseling women about their risk of persistence/recurrence after primary conization. HPV vaccination after conization is associated with a reduced risk of CIN2+

Association of kidney disease measures with risk of renal function worsening in patients with type 1 diabetes

Background: Albuminuria has been classically considered a marker of kidney damage progression in diabetic patients and it is routinely assessed to monitor kidney function. However, the role of a mild GFR reduction on the development of stage 653 CKD has been less explored in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) patients. Aim of the present study was to evaluate the prognostic role of kidney disease measures, namely albuminuria and reduced GFR, on the development of stage 653 CKD in a large cohort of patients affected by T1DM. Methods: A total of 4284 patients affected by T1DM followed-up at 76 diabetes centers participating to the Italian Association of Clinical Diabetologists (Associazione Medici Diabetologi, AMD) initiative constitutes the study population. Urinary albumin excretion (ACR) and estimated GFR (eGFR) were retrieved and analyzed. The incidence of stage 653 CKD (eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2) or eGFR reduction > 30% from baseline was evaluated. Results: The mean estimated GFR was 98 \ub1 17 mL/min/1.73m2 and the proportion of patients with albuminuria was 15.3% (n = 654) at baseline. About 8% (n = 337) of patients developed one of the two renal endpoints during the 4-year follow-up period. Age, albuminuria (micro or macro) and baseline eGFR < 90 ml/min/m2 were independent risk factors for stage 653 CKD and renal function worsening. When compared to patients with eGFR > 90 ml/min/1.73m2 and normoalbuminuria, those with albuminuria at baseline had a 1.69 greater risk of reaching stage 3 CKD, while patients with mild eGFR reduction (i.e. eGFR between 90 and 60 mL/min/1.73 m2) show a 3.81 greater risk that rose to 8.24 for those patients with albuminuria and mild eGFR reduction at baseline. Conclusions: Albuminuria and eGFR reduction represent independent risk factors for incident stage 653 CKD in T1DM patients. The simultaneous occurrence of reduced eGFR and albuminuria have a synergistic effect on renal function worsening

Long waves approaching the coast: Green’s law generalization

The original Green’s relationship provides the amplitude of a long wave at a given water depth as a function of the amplitude in deeper waters, accounting for the wave shoaling, taken as a one-dimensional process, and neglecting both diffraction and refraction effects. An analytical application of Green’s law can only be made in case of simple bathymetries, monotonically increasing in the cross-shore direction and being longshore uniform. In the present work, a new formulation is proposed, based on Green’s law, for the direct calculation of the change in amplitude of a long wave that approaches the coast while traveling over a natural bathymetry, characterized by a general shape. Hence, the effects due to the ray curvature provided by the refraction/diffraction phenomena are accounted for. In detail, a generalization of Green’s law is proposed by introducing a numerically computed coefficient. Comparisons have been provided between the wave amplitude evolution, reconstructed using the proposed law, and the results of numerical simulations, run using a solver based on the solution of the shallow water equations. Although local effects due to obstacles are not properly captured, such comparisons reveal that the generalized Green’s law works well in the far field under different wave and complex morphological conditions

Indoor Air Quality Real-Time Monitoring in Airport Terminal Areas: An Opportunity for Sustainable Management of Micro-Climatic Parameters

Indoor air quality (IAQ) management in public spaces is assuming a remarkable importance. Busy environments, like airport terminals, are currently regarded as possible hotspots and IAQ is a crucial element for passengers and staff protection, as well as a key aspect of airport passenger experience. A one-month monitoring period has been performed on IAQ in the airport of Bologna (Italy), as prototypal example of large regional airport. Four strategic areas within the airport have been equipped with electronic monitoring platforms, including different contaminants and two microclimatic sensors. Data suggest that daily variation in IAQ parameters typically follow the activity pattern of the different environments under study (i.e., passengers\u2019 flows) for gaseous contaminants, where particulate matter counts oscillate in a definite range, with a significant role played by ventilation system. Gaseous contaminants show a correlation between indoor and outdoor concentrations, mainly due to airside activities. Micro-climatic comfort parameters have been tested to match with standards for commercial environments. As results appears in line with typical households IAQ values, the current air ventilation system appears to be adequate. Nevertheless, an integrated air management system, based on real-time monitoring, would lead to optimization and improvement in environmental and economical sustainability

Steady streaming and sediment transport at the bottom of sea waves

The flow and sediment transport in the boundary layer at the sea bottom due to the passage of surface waves are determined by considering small values of the wave steepness and of the ratio between the thickness of the boundary layer and the local water depth. Both the velocity field and the sediment transport rate are determined up to the second order of approximation thus evaluating both the steady streaming and the net (wave-averaged) flux of sediment induced by nonlinear effects. The flow regime is assumed to be turbulent and a two-equation turbulence model is used to close the problem. The bed load is evaluated by means of an empirical relationship as function of the bed shear stress. The suspended load is determined by computing the sediment flux, once the sediment concentration is determined by solving an appropriate advection\u2013diffusion equation. The decay of the wave amplitude, which is due to the energy dissipation taking place in the boundary layer, is taken into account. The steady streaming and the sediment transport rate at the bottom of sea waves turn out to be different from those which are observed in a wave tunnel (U-tube), because of the dependence on the streamwise coordinate of the former flow. In particular, in the range of the parameters presently investigated, the sediment transport rate at the bottom of sea waves is found to be always onshore directed while, in a water tunnel (U-tube), the sediment transport rate can be onshore or offshore directed

Enhanced optoelastic interaction range in liquid crystals with negative dielectric anisotropy

International audienceWe demonstrate that the long-range interaction between surface-functionalized microparticles immersed a nematic liquid crystal--a "nematic colloid"--and a laser-induced "ghost colloid" can be enhanced by a low-voltage quasistatic electric field when the nematic mesophase has a negative dielectric anisotropy. The optoelastic trapping distance is shown to be enhanced by a factor up to 2.5 in presence of an electric field. Experimental data are quantitatively described with a theoretical model accounting for the spatial overlap between the orientational distortions around the microparticle and those induced by the trapping light beam itself

On the Accuracy of Wave Pattern Resistance Determination by the Longitudinal Cut Method

In the present work a careful study has been performed on the main error sources in the wave resistance determination by the longitudinal cut method. The experimental data obtained at the Italian Ship Model Basin (wave profiles generated by the steady motion of the Series 60) have been analysed and the relative measurement confidence intervals have been computed. The corresponding confidence interval has been next obtained for the wave resistance coefficient within the range of Froude numbers examined (.225 ? .350), taking into account the error band related to the wave profiles in the application of the longitudinal cut method: the 95% confidence interval shows a rather narrow band and the comparison with the numerical wave resistance as well as with experimental data available in the literature shows a satisfactory agreement. Moreover, the errors related to the truncation of the wave profile, typical of the longitudinal cut method, have been estimated by systematic tests performed by means of a numerical approach, which allows one to compare the wave resistance evaluated by the longitudinal cut method (applied in this case to the computed wave pattern) with the value obtained by pressure integration on the hull. As a result, in a sufficiently wide tank (b > 12m) the longitudinal cut method can be applied without introducing any severe limitation for the model length.In questo lavoro ? stato condotto un accurato studio delle principali fonti d\u27errore nella determinazione della resistenza d\u27onda mediante il metodo del taglio longitudinale. Sono stati analizzati i dati sperimentali ottenuti presso la Vasca Navale di Roma (profili d\u27onda relativi al moto stazionario di un modello della serie 60) e sono stati calcolati gli intervalli di confidenza delle misure effettuate. E\u27 stato poi ottenuto il corrispondente intervallo di confidenza per il coefficiente di resistenza d\u27onda all\u27interno del range dei numeri di Froude testati (.225 ? .350), tenendo conto dell\u27errore relativo al profilo d\u27onda nell\u27applicazione del metodo del taglio d\u27onda longitudinale: l\u27intervallo di confidenza al 95% fornisce una banda piuttosto stretta e i risultati sono in buon accordo con la resistenza d\u27onda calcolata numericamente cos? come con quella fornita dalla letteratura. Inoltre sono stati stimati gli errori relativi al troncamento del profilo d\u27onda, tipici del metodo del taglio longitudinale, per mezzo di test numerici sistematici che hanno permesso di comparare la resistenza d\u27onda calcolata con il metodo del taglio longitudinale (applicato in questo caso ad un profilo d\u27onda fittizio), con quella ottenuta integrando la pressione sullo scafo. I risultati mostrano che in un bacino sufficientemente largo (b > 12 m) il metodo del taglio longitudinale pu? essere applicato senza grosse limitazioni alla lunghezza del modello